The bright lights of Hollywood can sometimes mask the dark battles many of its actors face.

But how could the famous — with millions of dollars and admirers around the globe — become afflicted with such pain? Easily, according to actress Lorraine Bracco, who recently opened up about her depression and the medication she took for it in a speech at the Child Mind Institute in Manhattan.

Advertisement

Her illness hit while she was in the throes of success from her role — ironically, as grounded psychiatrist Dr. Melfi — on "The Sopranos."

"I remember watching my TV saying, what the f--- is wrong with you?" the actress told the Daily News. "This is everything you've been working for: a fabulous TV show, Emmy nominations. That was the morning I said yeah, this is not right."

Bracco is among a host of Hollywood A-listers who have recently shared their very private inner battles with their adoring public, including Wayne Brady, Amanda Bynes, Sharon Osbourne, Rene Russo and Glenn Close.

And Robin Williams' tragic suicide in August shows how dangerous these disorders can become if left untreated. Recent reports indicate his mental health struggles may have been exacerbated by a diagnosis with Lewy Body Dementia, which causes hallucinations.

Remembering Robin Williams

Like many diseases, mental health disorders don't discriminate, and affect millions of average Joes across the country, according to Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz, founding president of the Child Mind Institute. One in four adults — nearly 62 million Americans — go through a mental illness in any given year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The majority — 60% — don't get help.

"We're really talking about brain-based illness," he said. "It's hard to believe when you have a great smile or a great body or you're rich, what do you have to be depressed about? Nothing. (But that person has) the bad luck of having depression."

The stigma of having mental health issues still exists, Koplewicz and Bracco agreed. People would rather quietly shove the topic under the rug than discuss it, the actress said.

"It's much easier to self-medicate in this society than to say, 'I'm depressed' or 'I'm bipolar,'" Bracco said. "I remember being at Yankee stadium and some woman tapping me and saying she couldn't believe I was on medication and talked about being depressed. People couldn't believe it."

Koplewicz recalled contacting celebrities for the Child Mind Institute who had casually mentioned mental health struggles, only to have agents and managers tell him that the celeb didn't want to be involved.

Sharon Osbourne admitted Nov. 3 that she’d been on antidepressants for 16 years. (Richard Shotwell/Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

They're more inclined, he said, to attach their face to a physical-health cause for fear that admitting mental health problems will affect them professionally.

"This is a sex symbol, a movie star, an Academy Award winning actress -- this could be so helpful to hundreds of thousands of people," he said. "(They) can see that you can get through the tunnel. And yet it's not equal to cancer. It's hard to see (how) you can say, this will affect her ability to get the next job, (as if) having cancer or diabetes isn't a risk factor?"

But as celebrities begin to speak up about their challenges, the stigma will start to unfold, Koplewicz said, just as it did with cancer. People used to whisper the word.

"I think it's been ignored for a very, very long time," Bracco said. "Unfortunately we had to wait for horrific situations to happen … It takes such a strong person to come to that realization and not see (their battles) as weak."